Hypodermic set



May 3, 1960 B. BOUET HYPODERMIC SET Filed March 29. 1955 l l l l l l l United States Patent HYPODERMIC SET Bernard Bonet, Paris,l France Application March 29, 195,5, Serial No. 497,769 Claims priority, applicationFrance April, 1954 s claims. `(c1. 12s- 216) This invention relates to hypodermic injection equipment.

Hypodermic injections are usually eifected with the use of a syringe containing a slidable piston and adapted to have a needle aixed to the end of the syringe, the whole assembly being sterilized before performing an injection.

Thus, in order to make an injection by means of such a syringe, the operator needs to have sterilizing means at his disposal; moreover, the operation is somewhat lengthy owing to the time required for the sterilizing step, tilling the syringe and inserting the needle. This can be a grave drawback in cases wherey the time factor is of lvital importance, as in cases Where the patient has suffered a heart attack, sustained a poisonous snake bite and so on.

The provision has already been suggested `of a hypodermic syringe comprising a phial made of llexible material containing the liquid to be injected and adapted to house a needle when not in use. When desired to make an injection, the needle is withdrawn from the phial and is affixed to the phial outwardly thereof. Then the phial is Ysqueezed in order to expel the liquid therefrom. No sterilization is required prior to injection.

Such syringes, however, are not entirely satisfactory in that area of attachment of the needle with respect to the outer end of the phial necessarily cannot be sterile. Moreover, there is the danger of dropping the needle or bringing it into contact with some non-sterile object when the needle is inserted.

The above difliculties are overcome in accordance with the invention by providing an assembly comprising a phial made of flexible material adapted to contain the substance to be injected, a needle mounted for axial sliding movement in the phial so as normally to have a major part of the needle housed within the body of the phial, a protective cap covering the outer end of the needle, and means for locking the needle in its operative position.

The phial preferably is made of a suitable plastic material such as polyethylene.

The locking means may comprise a snap-locking arrangement such as a ring formed with resilient tongues adapted to be inserted into an annular groove formed on a part secured to the inner end of the needle. The said part may alternatively be formed with screw threads for threaded engagement in a coaxial internal screw thread in the phial. Alternatively the part may be provided with a projection adapted for insertion in a complementary recess formed in the phial.

Desirably a small axuiliary receptacle containing a suitable disinfectant, such as solid or liquid alcohol, may be provided within the protective cap or in the end part of the phial.

The phial may be provided as a tube formed with accordion like folds, in order to facilitate injection.

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of illustration but not of limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein;

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Fig. 1 is a view of au assembly according to the inven tion in axial section, in inoperative condition; 5

Fig. 2 is an axial section on line II--II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a Vfront view of the locking ring;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the assembly n its operative condition;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of a modified construe'-v tion of the protective cap or cover; and l Fig. 6 is an axial sectional view of a modied form of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, a generally tubular phial member 1 made of a suitable material,

possessing substantial exibility, such as a polyethylene v sheet material has its open end secured around a terminal member 2 which has a perforated end and is comparatively rigid, Mounted for axial sliding movement in a bore of the member 2 is a hypodermic needle 3. As shown in Fig. l, the needle 3 in the inoperative condition of the assembly is adapted to have a major part of its length contained within the phial 1. The projecting end of the needle 3 is then located within a protective cap or cover 4 which is carried by said perforated end in readily separable bonded relation thereo. More particularly, the cap 4 is removably secured to the member 2 by means of a small strip 5 surrounding in part a cylindrical extension of the terminal member 2 and in part a cylindrical extension of the cap 4 so as to overlap the abutting faces of both extensions. Secured to the inner end of the needle 3 is a frustoconical sealing member 6 formed with an annular groove 7. Secured within the bore in end member 2 is a ring 8 formed as clearly shown in Fig. 3 with a plurality of radial slots 9 extending from its inner periphery to define resilient tongues 16 which, as shown in Fig. l, are bent in an axial direction towards the outer end of the terminal member. The lugs l0 of the ring project into the free passage dened by the bore in the terminal member and are so dimensioned as to be engageable with the annular groove 7 when the needle has been pulled out to the left so as to assume the .operative condition illustrated in Fig. 4. In this condition of the assembly, engagement of the projecting resilient strips 10 with the annular groove in frustoconical sealing member 6 serves to lock the needle in its projected position.

To prepare the assembly for use, the strip 5 is removed and the protective cap 4, formed as a lflat circular knob, is pulled leftwards to bring the needle to its fully projecting position when the locking lugs 10 snap into the groove 7 to hold the needle in this position. The bore in the terminal member 2 is effectively sealed against pressure due to coaction between complementary surfaces in the member 2 and frustoconical member 6. The needle is prevented from returning of its own accord to its retracted position due to the bending of the locking strips 10. The cap 4 is then removed and the syringe is in condition for use.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, means may be provided for conveniently carrying a dose of a suitable antiseptic or other suitable substance necessary in performing a hypodermic injection, particularly for sterilizing an area of the patients skin around the point of injection.

In the embodiment just described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4, the closed end of the phial body l is so conformed as to define a small auxiliary receptacle 11, as by pinching the opposite walls of the body 1 and bonding them together in the manner indicated at 12. This small end chamber or receptacle 1l contains a dose of a suitable substance such as alcohol or other suitable antiseptic, in solid or liquid form. In order to use this substance a wall of the receptacle 11 may be broken or pierced.

lIn the modication illustrated in Fig. 5, the receptacle instead of being provided in the sealed end of the phial Patented May 3, 1960,-

. member 13;

Fig. 6 illustrates a modified form of the invention wherein the phialbody 1, instead of being cylindrical in form, is formed with accordion-like pleats. may desirably be of helical form.

It will be understood that many variationsvmay be made in the structural details of the assembly Ydescribed andillnstrated by way of example without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as dened in the following claims.

What I claim is: v

1. A hypodermic injection set which comprises aphial of flexible material adapted to contain an injectable fluid, an injection needle mounted for sliding displacement in the phial coaxially therewith between a storage position iniwhich the needle. is substantially retracted within thek phial and has only a small end portion thereof projeeting out ofthe phial and an operative position wherein amajorportion or" the needle projects from the phial, a protective cap member receiving said projecting end portion in said storage position of the needle, said cap member being adapted to be pulled out relative to the phial in order to displace the needle to said operative position thereof, and means for locking the needle in operative position.

2. In an hypodermic set as claimed in claim 1, a small container mounted within said cap member and adapted to contain a disinfectant substance therein.

3. In a hypodermic set as claimed in claim l, a small container mounted Within said phial adjacent a sealed end thereof and adapted to contain a disinfectant substance therein.

4. In a hypodermic set as claimed in claim l, resilient strip means supported from said phial, means secured on an inner end of said needle and having an annular groove formed thereon in cooperative relation with said resilient means` for interlocking engagement therewith in the operative position of the needle.

The pleats 5. Anhypodermic set as claimed in claim 1, wherein said phial comprises accordion-pleated walls.

6. An hypodermic set as claimed in claim 1, wherein said phial comprises helically-pleated walls.

7. A disposable hypodermic syringe assembly comprising a receptacle defining a chamber for a Huid medium, said chamber havingV a perforated end, a needle slidable in said perforated end and having a tip projecting therefrom, means to limit outward sliding movement of said needle and to retain the latter inits extended position, land a cap ,of flexible material carried by the perforated end of said ichamber in readily separable bondedrelationship thereto. g

8. A disposable hypodermic syringe assembly comprising a receptacle defining a chamber for a fluid medium, said chamber having a perforated end, a needle slidable in said perforated end and having a tip projecting therefrom, means `to, limit outward sliding movement of Ysaid needle and to retain the latter in its extended position, and,

a capl of exible material carried by said tip in readily separable bonded relationship to said perforated end with the needle in its retracted position.

References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

